


What A Father Would Do

by Meribell64



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Crying, Dialogue Heavy, Gen, Grief, Grief/Mourning, Hurt and comfort, Mentioned Character Death, Minor Character Death, One Shot, Poor Caspar, Post-Time Skip, Random Angst tbh, Sad, Short One Shot, Verdant Wind route, i still don't know how to tag, kind of, no beta we die like Glenn, spoilers kinda, this is before they go to Shambala
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:28:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25136188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meribell64/pseuds/Meribell64
Summary: When Byleth goes to the training grounds and sees Caspar, she expected to be met with the joyful and training eager man. What happened next is something she didn't expect.
Relationships: Caspar von Bergliez & My Unit | Byleth, Caspar von Bergliez/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 10
Kudos: 26





	What A Father Would Do

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly when you talk to Caspar before going to Shambala, what he says really stuck with me, not only that, shoutout to the wonderful @RoseCallainus for discussing with me about this like days ago LOL 
> 
> Totally should check out her story [I Think We're Alone Now](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22659160/chapters/54158494) //shamelessadvertising
> 
> Okay hope you guys ready for some hurting because I wasn't

Byleth headed to the training grounds after being cooped in her room for Sothis knows how long. She needed to get out and swore if she saw another report, she would actually kill someone. Or worse. Whichever came first.

It wasn’t as bad as before though. They were finally done with the war against Edelgard, but now they had a new threat to deal with. In just a few weeks, the army is going to head out to Shambala, where their real enemy was hiding.

A sigh left her lips. She can’t think about this-- at least not right now. She needs a break.

She pulled on the doors to the training grounds and was met with a loud sound-- or rather roar. Her hand reflexively went to the sword she kept at her hip until she saw a streak of blue hair and the sound of an axe being swung through the air. She heard the familiar voice of a battle cry and relaxed. It was Caspar.

Caspar gripped the handle of his axe tightly as he did an upswing and performed a following downswing. It seemed he had been going at it for a while as he panted heavily, letting the weight of his axe weigh him down towards the ground as his shoulders slumped forward. Byleth waited a few moments, staying quiet so as to not disturb his concentration. When he did not make another movement or even a sound, she began to worry a bit. She walked towards him, the smell of sweat hitting her nose as she did.

“Hello, Caspar,” she greeted.

“Bah!” He yelled out as he immediately raised his axe and took an offensive position, ready to attack the sudden intrusion. His eyes went wide as he saw it was Byleth. “P-Professor!”

“Was I interrupting you?” she asked with a tilt of her head, remaining steadfast in her position with no hint of worry despite his strong reaction.

“Can you not scare me like that, Professor!?” Caspar snapped at her.

Byleth gave a slow blink to the sudden outburst. “I’m sorry,” she said calmly and softly.

She watched as Caspar’s face twisted into something of guilt. “No, no! It’s— ugh,” he sighed he lowered his weapon. He proceeded to walk towards the nearby benches and plopped down on one of them. He left his axe resting on the ground next to him before grabbing his head. “It’s not you, it’s me. I just… couldn’t stop thinking about something.”

An uneasy tightness knotted up in her chest. It wasn’t like Caspar to become this restless and bothered. Byleth quietly took a seat next to him, folding her hands on her lap as she watched him carefully. “What’s wrong?” She asked in the softest voice she could muster.

A beat of silence passed. Then two. Three. Just as she thought he didn’t want to discuss it, she heard him speak.

“My father.”

If she had not been paying close attention to him, she would have missed what he said. Never had she heard Caspar’s voice so quiet.

Byleth tried hard to remember details about his father. She recalled vaguely that his father was in charge of the Empire’s Ministry of Military Affairs-- Oh wait. His father was also part of the war and in one of the reports that detailed the accounts of deaths from the Empire’s side. The corner of her lips shifted downwards ever so slightly as her expression softened. She could feel an aching feeling in her heart-- guilt was it?-- as she watched Caspar’s slumped form as he held his head in his hands, focused on the ground beneath his feet.

“He’s dead,” he said in a voice she swore was even quieter than just moments before.

The aching tightness she felt in her chest seemed to have worsened. She recognized this feeling as her father’s last moments flashed through her mind. “I’m sorry for your loss, Caspar,” she said to him softly, almost delicately, as if she spoke any louder, he would break into a million pieces.

The distinct sound of sniffles could be heard as he finally straightened up a bit, resting his arms on his knees and wiped his nose on his arm. “It’s fine. It’s fine,” he said, however, Byleth knew it was not. “I’m okay, really. It was something to be expected y’know?”

Byleth said nothing as he spoke.

Caspar ran his hand through his hair as he let out a sigh. “I was ready for it. He was the general for the Imperial Army and being the Minister of Military Affairs, there was nothing that could possibly be done about it.”

His hand curls up into a tight fist against his lap. “But that’s not what’s bothering you, isn’t it?” she asked as she watched him.

A moment of silence filled the air between them, tensed and palpable. He returned to the same position as before, holding his head in his hands as if it was the only thing that could support him. “After the fight, I… I went around and asked about him. And they told me what happened. They told me that he…” He swallowed, taking in a sharp deep breath as he struggled to speak. She never heard his voice shake so much and restrained. After a moment and another deep breath, he continued, “They told me instead of surrendering, he gave up his own life so that the Empire’s soldiers wouldn’t have to lose theirs.”

Byleth couldn’t help but think how admirable that was to do; to give your own life for your soldiers.

Caspar continued, “I know I said how much he scares me, but I… thought the world of him. He was a tough guy and that kind of fight was something only he could do. It was a fight that only he could take on.” He finally lifted his head from his hands and stared ahead, a fierce expression on his face, eyebrows scrunched together and she swore there were red rims around his eyes, a glassy look added onto it. “When I was growing up, I thought he was the strongest person in the world and I wanted to be just like him.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he recalled the memories of his youth. “I remember I did something, I think I broke something and he yelled at me so loud I thought he was actually going to kill me. All I remembered is being scared shitless like there’s no tomorrow for me.” A mirthless laugh escaped his lips.

Byleth wished she could have met his father. She had only heard stories about the prowess his father possessed, one that could even rival Holst’s reputation. He sounded like a force to be reckoned with-- or rather he _was_ a force to be reckoned with. She placed a hand on his shoulder, unsure what else to do, or even say. What could she say?

She felt his body stiffen under her touch before slowly relaxing. He wiped his nose again with his hand and a sniffle. “We weren’t really close to be honest. I mean I’m the second son and my brother was gonna be in charge when my father stepped down. So ya know my father spent most of his time trying to get my brother into shape and…” he gives a shrug. “I kinda got to do whatever I wanted.” He folded his hands together, and she saw a subtle twitch in them, as if unused to having such a nervous habit. It was if his hands twitched to hold something other than the other hand. “Do you remember when I came back to the monastery professor?” he asked suddenly.

“Of course,” she answered. Byleth could never forget. Caspar made quite a ruckus at the gate with an exasperated and tired Linhardt in tow. The moment she and Claude came at the scene, the first thing Caspar did was shouted and expressed his joy at seeing her again, pushing everyone out of the way the best he could to get to her. She remembered asking why Caspar and Linhardt were at the monastery and he only answered, “ _To join you obviously! I know we’re late to the reunion, but we just had to be here, and well, we’re here!_ ” She couldn’t help but smile at the memory of the hug he gave her that day.

The smile disappeared as quickly as it came as Caspar continued where he was going with the question. “Lin and I managed to slip away from Edelgard’s eyes. At the time, all I could think about how she was going to kill us-- actually forget Edelgard, I couldn’t stop thinking about how mad my father was going to be if he found me. I’m pretty damn sure he’d have me hanging upside down somewhere. Or worse.”

“When I think about it now… It was.... Actually not that hard getting to the monastery. Not as hard as I thought it would be. At first I thought Lin and I were just lucky y’know? And that’s all it was when we got here, but when I think about it… it just doesn’t make sense. I mean, Lin’s dad handles all that political stuff and that means he has to have connections to finding people or whatever, right? So like…” A frustrated groan came from Caspar as he rummaged his hands into his hair, as if he didn’t know what words to speak.

Byleth patted his shoulder soothingly. “Take your time Caspar.”

Caspar took a moment to take a deep breath, his Adam's apple bobbing out as he swallowed. Letting out a sigh, a sigh that seemed to express all the sudden fatigue he felt just within these past few minutes. “My father knew, professor. He knew what me and Lin were gonna do, so I just… didn’t understand why he didn’t just drag me back. It would have been easy.”

“Why do you think he let you go?” Byleth prompted.

He was quiet for a moment. When he folded his hands together again and lowered his forehead down against them, he spoke again, “I think he was trying to protect me.”

“Protect you?”

He nods against his hands. “If… my father had gone against Edelgard, I think she would have done something… terrible.” Killed. “And if she had gotten word of what Lin and I did…” His voice trailed off. There was no way she, or at least Hubert, would have let them off that easy.

“My father and I were never close, so to think he did something like that for me, I… I can’t help but think about how I fought alongside you and Claude.” He sniffled, lifting his head up and finally looking up to her. His eyes were bleary from the bubbling tears that formed at the corners, welling up and threatening to spill down his cheeks. “Did I ever get stronger, professor? If… If I was stronger, do you think my father would have… could have…” his voice choked as he spoke, unable to get the rest of his words out.

Byleth gently pulled him into an embrace, holding his head to her shoulder. She feels his entire body stiffen against her, no doubt shocked by her action. “Your father protected you because he loved you,” she says to him quietly. When Caspar remained quiet, slowly relaxing into her embrace as he listened to her next words. “He did what he did so you could live, Caspar.” She pulled back slightly so she could at him. “He would have been proud of you Caspar, to see how strong you are now.”

Caspar stared at her, unable to say anything. His lower lip quivered and trembled as tears finally fell and an endless stream came. Byleth pulled him into another hug as he wrapped his arms around her, burying his face into her shoulder as he cried. He let out loud sobs that rang throughout the training grounds. As her words processed further throughout his mind and the thoughts of his father lingered, he cried harder, wailing for the loss of his father, lamenting the loss of their relationship, and grieving for what could have been.

There was nothing Byleth could do for him, except comfort him, stroking his hair and cradling him in her arms as he cried.


End file.
